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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Smurfit Kappa Group PLC | 2,972.0 | 3.6% |
| Smith (Ds) PLC | 281.1 | 3.0% |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC | 322.9 | 1.6% |
| Centrica PLC | 135.2 | 1.5% |
| Sage Group PLC | 1,169.5 | 1.4% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Sainsbury (J) PLC | 258.9 | -6.1% |
| Barratt Developments PLC | 501.0 | -5.5% |
| Vodafone Group PLC | 63.6 | -4.0% |
| Antofagasta PLC | 1,697.5 | -3.8% |
| Anglo American PLC | 1,754.6 | -3.7% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 YEAR |
| UK 100 INDEX | 7,629 | -0.7% | -3.3% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 38,677 | 0.4% | 13.9% |
| DAX INDEX | 16,922 | -0.7% | 9.8% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 36,863 | 2.1% | 33.5% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 7,639 | 0.3% | 1.5% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 74.13 | 0.37% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 79.48 | 0.34% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 2,032 | -0.2% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 376 | 0.6% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open +8 points at 7,636. The UK 100 looks set to open slightly higher on Thursday after US markets hit new record highs driven by gains in tech stocks. On Wall Street, the S&P rose yesterday and edged closer to the 5,000 level, the broad-based index, which first breached the 4,000 level in April 2021, added 0.82% to finish at 4,995.06. At session highs, the S&P hit 4,999.89. The Nasdaq jumped 0.95% to settle at 15,756.64, while the Dow Jones rallied 156 points, or 0.4%, to close at 38,677.36 and an all-time high. In Asia this morning, Chinese consumer prices fell in January at their quickest rate in more than 14 years, data showed, as the country’s leaders struggle to revive buying sentiment in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Anglo American reported a 24% increase in copper production last year to 826,000 metric tons, lower than its previously forecast range of between 830,000-870,000 tons. They left their 2024 copper output guidance unchanged at 730,000-790,000 tons.
AstraZeneca have forecast higher revenue and profit for 2024, betting on a strong uptake of its infant RSV shot and resilient demand for its cancer and rare blood disorder drugs. They expect their total revenue and core earnings per share to increase by a low double-digit to low teens percentage for this year.
British American Tobacco reported a 5.2% increase in FY profit, exceeding analyst expectations. Their adjusted diluted earnings per share stood at £3.86, ahead of £3.76 consensus from analysts polled by the company.
Compass Group reported an 11.7% jump in Q1 organic revenue and said like-for-like volume was better than expected, especially in its business and industry division that caters to office staff. They kept their 2024 outlook unchanged, with underlying operating profit growth expected to be towards 13%.
SSE reaffirms their FY24 adjusted earnings per share guidance of more than 150p.
Unilever met expectations for underlying Q4 sales growth after raising prices at a slower rate than in recent quarters, posting an increase in sales volumes for the first time in 10 years. They expect a “modest improvement” in underlying operating profit margin for the FY and that underlying sales growth will be within its multi-year range of 3-5%.
Watches of Switzerland reports Q3 FY24 group revenue of £397m and reconfirms guidance.
Jefferies Downgrades Redrow to Hold from Buy (7 Buys / 4 Holds / 0 Sells)
UBS Downgrades London Stock Exchange to Neutral from Buy (6 Buys / 3 Holds / 0 Sells)
UK
Anglo American
AstraZeneca
British American Tobacco
Compass Group
Redrow
SSE
Unilever
Watches of Switzerland Group
US
Philip Morris International
Cloudflare
Illumina
Take-Two Interactive Software
UK
Bellway
US
PepsiCo
Chinese Consumer Price Index
Chinese Producer Price Index
EU Economic Bulletin
US Initial Jobless Claims
BoE’s Mann speech
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 8th February 2023:
None
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 8th February 2023:
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust
GCP Infrastructure Investments
Bluefield Solar Income Fund
Target Healthcare REIT
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust
LXi REIT
Henderson Smaller Cos Inv Tst
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